New Hampshire Primary Source covers breaking and behind-the-scenes news and analysis on the New Hampshire presidential primary and all things political in the Granite State. John DiStaso is the most experienced political writer in New Hampshire and has been writing a weekly column since 1982.

His tour will follow the Democratic presidential debate scheduled for Dec. 19 at Saint Anselm College.

“He will crisscross the Granite State talking about his bold vision to rebuild the American dream and his record of delivering on the issues progressives care about. Eight years ago, Americans voted for change,” O’Malley’s campaign said. “Now isn't the time to turn back the clock on progress.”

The former Maryland governor will hold what his campaign is calling “New Leadership Town Halls” on Dec. 20 at 11:30 a.m. at the Hopkinton Town Hall; at 5:15 p.m. at the American Legion Sweeney Post No. 2, 251 Maple Street, Manchester; and at 6:45 p.m. at the home of Jen Wilhelm, 181 Drew Road, Madbury.

O’Malley on Dec. 21 will attend a “Future Leaders Forum” at Concord High School at 9:45 a.m. and hold employees-only town halls at 1:30 p.m. at C & S Wholesale Grocers, 10 Optical Ave., Keene, and at 4:15 p.m. at Dyn, 150 Dow St., Manchester.

At 5:45 p.m., he will hold a town hall at the Searles Chapel and School, 3 Chapel Road, Windham.

(Earlier updates and the full Dec. 10 New Hampshire Primary Source column follow.)

(Friday, Dec. 11, update:)

NEW ENDORSEMENTS FOR MARCO, JEB. The New Hampshire national convention delegate slates submitted by the campaigns of Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio reveal new endorsements for the two Floridians.

Bush’s slate has 12 new endorsements, including Franklin Pierce University president and former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card, who served as chief of staff to former President George W. Bush.

Also new on the Bush delegate list are supporters former state Rep. Kevin K. Waterhouse of Windham; former U.S. Department of Labor Appeals Judge Wayne C. Beyer of Conway; former state Board of Education vice chair Debra Hamel of Marlborough; Rockingham County Republican Committee vice chair Michael J Demartino of Exeter; German Ortiz of Manchester; state Reps. Lynn and Russell Ober of Hudson; former Dover City Councilor Gina M. Cruikshank; Alfonso J. Webb of Hampton; Richard M. Riley of Portsmouth; and Cody G. Aubin of Manchester.

Bush campaign co-chair and state Senate President Chuck Morse said Bush has a strong grassroots organization and “has campaigned the New Hampshire way, with countless town halls, diner stops and house parties--and his delegate slate reflects the strong organization necessary to win here in February.”

Rubio’s new endorsements, as disclosed on the delegate list, are former New Hampshire House Majority Whip Pam Price; Hampstead Republican Chairman Tyler Clark; and Mike DiCroce, Rockingham County GOP finance chair and 2014 candidate for Rockingham County attorney.

The Ayotte email comes a day after Hassan’s campaign emailed supporters with a petition accusing Ayotte of voting last week “to leave open a loophole allowing known or suspected terrorists to buy guns and explosives.” Hassan’s petition seeks “common sense measures to make our communities safer.”

Ayotte’s campaign writes that two former Obama administration officials told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday “that the threat from ISIS is getting worse, not better.”

“This deteriorating situation comes as Iran continues to thumb its nose at the Obama administration’s nuclear deal,” the email says. “The Iranian regime has now conducted its second ballistic missile launch since the White House agreed to the misguided deal with Iran.”

The campaign then says Hassan has shown “blind support for President Obama’s foreign policy and a troubling lack of knowledge about the threats facing our country.”

“Tell President Obama and Maggie Hassan a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable,” the email says.

Hassan’s email petition says that Ayotte not only voted for the terrorist gun “loophole,” but also voted to block a measure to strengthen background check system.

“Add your name to tell Kelly Ayotte and the NRA that New Hampshire, and states from coast to coast, deserves real action on gun violence for safer, stronger communities,” the Hassan campaign email says.

(The full Dec. 10 New Hampshire Primary Source follows.)

(Thursday, Dec. 10)

TRUMP SHOWS NO SIGN OF WEAKNESS. There’s a lot to look at in the WMUR/CNN polls that came out this week, but perhaps most striking is that Donald Trump’s lead among the Republican presidential candidates is all-encompassing.

While establishment Republicans are wishing, hoping and waiting for him to fall, there is no sign of that, yet. Yes, there are two months to go and there have been dramatic collapses in primaries past.

But at this point, the bottom would have to fall out for Trump, who is in New Hampshire Thursday night, in order for him to spiral out of first place.

The New Hampshire Primary Poll released on Tuesday showed that Trump leads among women 27 percent to 15 percent over Marco Rubio; and, less surprisingly, among men, 35 percent to 14 percent.

Trump not only has a big lead among registered Republicans, 29 percent to 13 percent for Rubio, but also among registered undeclared voters, 34 percent to 16 percent.

He leads among self-described conservatives 34 percent to 15 percent over Rubio; among moderates 27 percent to 15 percent; and even among Republican voters who view themselves as liberals, 43 percent to 19 percent for Jeb Bush.

Pro-Tea Party Republican voters support Trump over Rubio, 37 percent to 13 percent. Opponents of the Tea Party give him a 20 percent to 17 percent edge.

He cuts across all age groups, leading among 18 to 34-year-olds, 37 percent to 11 percent over Bush; among 35 to 49-year-olds, 31 percent to 13 percent over Rubio; among 50 to 64 year-olds, 34 percent to 17 percent over Rubio; and among those 65-years-old and older, 26 percent to 14 percent over Rubio.

And he leads in all geographic areas of the state.

Only 18 percent of those polled have firmly made up their minds on who they will vote for on Feb. 9, but it’s an uphill climb at this point for anyone to grab the top spot from him, and it’s getting steeper every day.

Funny thing, though, although Sanders leads Clinton, 50 percent to 40 percent, Clinton is viewed by 59 percent – and Sanders by only 28 percent – as the candidate who will actually win the primary.

It’s odd, especially when one considers that Clinton has not even convinced all of her supporters that she will be the winner. A total of 84 percent of Clinton supporters believe she will win the primary, but 8 percent of her backers believe Sanders will win.

Sanders’ problem – and one that he will have to confront in the coming months – is that less than half of his own supporters, 48 percent, believe that he will win the primary, while 39 percent of Sanders’ supporters believe Clinton will win.

Not to mention that 70 percent of all voters believe Clinton has the best chance of winning the general election in November 2016, including 53 percent of Sanders' supporters. Sanders was named by only 17 percent, and 11 percent said they did not know.

Only 32 percent of Sanders' supporters believe that he has the best chance among the three Democratic candidates of winning the general election.

How to move from an extremely popular leader of a movement to a candidate with strong electability credentials has been Sanders’ challenge for months now, and it continues to be.

MATCH-UPS. At odds with all of that is the latest poll from Public Policy Polling. Released on Monday, it poll showed that while Clinton and Sanders are in a virtual tie in New Hampshire (with Clinton ahead, 44 to 42 percent), it is Sanders who matches up better against the Republican candidates.

In all cases, PPP pointed out, Sanders slightly does better than Clinton against the Republicans.

So go figure.

SENATE, GOVERNOR. PPP, which is known as a Democratic-leaning pollster, also surveyed the U.S. Senate race, showing Kelly Ayotte and Maggie Hassan tied at 42 percent and neither candidate particularly popular.

Ayotte was viewed favorably by 40 percent and unfavorably by 42 percent; Hassan was viewed favorably by 43 percent and unfavorably by 40 percent.

While Ayotte’s numbers were unchanged from the previous PPP poll in October, Hassan’s favorable-unfavorable rating dropped from 50 percent-39 percent, which PPP attributed to Hassan’s call for the federal government to stop admitting Syrian refugees into the country.

THAT SENATE RACE. Despite the increasing intensity of the first-in-the-nation primary campaigns, the U.S. Senate race between Hassan and Ayotte is already becoming so intense that one might think that election was only two months away, rather than 11 months.

The latest battle focuses on competing social media ads.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee launched a new digital ad campaign accusing Ayotte of “rewriting her record.” It charges that Ayotte “tried to mislead New Hampshire about her position on closing the terrorist gun loophole.”

Ayotte voted for what the Democrats call a “watered-down” GOP alternative to a Democratic bill that would have banned the sale of firearms to those on the nation’s terrorist watch list. Ayotte’s camp said the bill she supported was a legitimate option that would have better protected 2nd Amendment rights of those who were place on the watch list in error.

The digital ads link to an “Ayotte Fact Check” site that alleges she has also misled on college debt, women’s health, the environment and issues of interest to working families.

Democrats have also pointed out that Ayotte’s Facebook page has been inundated by critics of her vote for the GOP, rather than the Democratic, terrorist watch list bill.

Ayotte’s camp returned fire on Wednesday with its own paid digital “Get the Facts” ad accusing “Washington Democrats” of misleading voters on her record. Her ad calls the Democratic terrorist watch list bill a “gimmick.”

Ayotte’s camp also released a web video showing Hassan recently answering a question about ISIS. The campaign says the video shows that Hassan refused to say whether the U.S. is at war with “radical Islam” and shows Hassan mistakenly saying that ISIS declared war in the recent “bombing of Paris.”

WITH REGRETS. Gov. Maggie Hassan’s spokesman said a scheduling oversight was the reason she didn’t make it to the New Hampshire Air Guard’s annual holiday celebration last Sunday.

LTC Gregory Heilshorn said about 1,200 guard members, family members and friends attended the event at the former Pease Air Force Base.

He said the Guard routinely invites the governor and members of the congressional delegation but this year, only U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte attended.

A spokesman for Gov. Maggie Hassan told us, “Gov. Hassan attends as many National Guard events as possible. As a result of an inadvertent error, the event did not make it onto the governor's schedule, and she certainly regrets missing it.”

We understand that the governor's office notified the House and Senate chiefs of staff that the governor would be out of state that day through Tuesday evening.

(Thursday afternoon, Dec. 10, update:)

Word of Hassan's absence from the event drew criticism from Republican former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, a retired Colonel in the Army National Guard.

"Gov. Hassan should be honest with Granite Staters and admit if she chose to campaign and fund-raise out of state instead of attending the New Hampshire Air Guard’s annual holiday event. As commander-in-chief of the New Hampshire National Guard, the governor has a duty to put those men and women in uniform ahead of her personal political ambitions.

"Blaming an ‘inadvertent error’ for not attending the Air Guard’s most important annual event is no excuse and is clearly an attempt to do damage control after being caught abandoning her duties as governor. New Hampshire deserves a full-time governor instead of a distracted politician more concerned with getting to Washington than serving her constituents.”

Hassan campaign spokesman Aaron Jacobs responded: "Kelly Ayotte, who has said that she would still support Donald Trump for president, should stop trotting out one of Granite Staters' most disliked politicians to launch politically motivated attacks on her behalf.

"Scott Brown, who only moved to New Hampshire to run for office, has no credibility with the people of New Hampshire and should keep his focus on hosting barbecues for the likes of Trump and the rest of the far-right Republican candidates."

A Hassan supporter noted that the governor on Thursday attended the Operation Santa Claus event with members of the Guard and state employees.

SANTORUM, FIORINA TO ATTEND NHGOP TOWN HALL. Two more Republican presidential candidates have signed on to attend the New Hampshire Republican Party’s “First-in-the-Nation Presidential Town Hall” on Jan. 22-23.

We’ve learned former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum has agreed to attend, and the party confirmed that also on board is former business executive Carly Fiorina.

They are the second and third candidates to confirm appearances, following U.S. Rand Paul, who announced on Monday that he will attend.

“New Hampshire voters are some of the most informed and passionate, and they are very concerned about the direction Barack Obama is taking our nation,” Santorum said. “We are a nation at war with radical Islam, our economy has flat-lined, and our communities are being torn apart from within. I am looking forward to addressing these and all other issues of concern to New Hampshire voters at the town hall."

Fiorina said, “Whenever I visit New Hampshire, I’m reminded of how Granite State voters understand the great importance of citizen government and the first-in-the-nation primary. I look forward to speaking at the First-in-the-Nation Town Hall in January about my plan to take our country back and out of the hands of the professional political class."

NHGOP Chairwoman Jennifer Horn said the party is pleased with the growing roster of speakers.

ENDORSING JEB. New Hampshire Primary Source has learned the latest state GOP activists to endorse Jeb Bush are Merrimack County Commissioner Bronwyn Asplund, former state Rep. Russell Day of Goffstown and former state Rep. and long-time Cheshire County Republican activist John Byrnes.

“As our country faces increased danger both at home and abroad, Gov. Bush’s proven leadership skills are what we need in the Oval Office," Asplund said. "Gov. Bush has a knowledge and understanding of the issues that is unmatched in the Republican field.”

Bush’s campaign on Thursday is launching a digital ad focusing on his call for the U.S. to lead a coalition “to take out ISIS with overwhelming force” made in a speech at The Citadal in South Carolina on Nov. 18.

THE KOCHS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. The progressive research group American Bridge has put together a 100-page report on the influence of the Koch brothers on New Hampshire politics, and the conclusion is, in a nutshell, there is heavy influence.

We’re not taking sides in this fight, certainly, but we will say that the group has gone all out in promoting its belief that the Kochs have viewed New Hampshire as a key state in advancing their agenda.

LOCAL EFFORT FOR DEBT-FREE COLLEGE. State Rep. Marjorie Porter, D-Hillsborough, joined a conference call with lawmakers and officials from nine other state this week to talk about their local efforts to promote debt-free college tuitions.

The call was hosted by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has long been a fan of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and has long been pushing her agenda – including debt-free tuition.

Porter told us that she is gathering cosponsors and supporters for a resolution that would put the New Hampshire Legislature on record supporting efforts to enact legislation that would ensure that all students have access to debt-free higher education, increase state funding to higher education and increase state aid to students.

Porter said it is too late to file the resolution for 2016 and so she plans to introduce it in 2017.

REACTING TO THE DONALD. Kelly Ayotte and Maggie Hassan this week weighed in on Donald Trump’s call for a temporary halt to allowing Muslims into the U.S.

Ayotte focused on the issue, saying: “I do not support religious-based tests for our immigration system and such a test would be inconsistent with the First Amendment to the Constitution. There should be fact-based risk assessments for entry into our country, which is why I’ve called for strengthening our refugee screening process and cosponsored legislation to strengthen the Visa Waiver Program to prohibit people who have recently traveled to countries like Iraq and Syria from traveling to the U.S. under that program.”

Hassan focused on the issue and the candidate, saying: “Donald Trump’s comments are dangerous, disgraceful, and completely at odds with the American values that we hold dear. Trump's hateful comments should be condemned by all, regardless of political party."

WEBSITE FUN. As we first reported on Twitter on Wednesday, someone who likes Donald Trump is having online fun with certain Republicans.

As of Wednesday night, visitors to KellyAyotte.com, NHGOP.com and JebBush.com were mysteriously routed to DonaldJTrump.com, his official website.

BUSY WEEK. As one might expect with two months to go until the primary, the campaign trail in New Hampshire continues to be busy.

Donald Trump on Thursday at 7 p.m. will speak to the New England Police Benevolent Association’s executive meeting at the Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina will speak Thursday at noon to the Portsmouth Rotary Club at the Portsmouth Country Club in Greenland. He will then hold a town hall at the Riverwoods Retirement Community in Exeter at 2 p.m., followed by a discussion with business leaders at the Sheehan Phinney Bass and Green law firm in Manchester at 4 p.m.

Graham on Friday will hold a town hall meeting at Concord High School at 9:45 a.m., followed by a Chamber of Commerce roundtable event at the office of the Concord Chamber of Commerce.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich will be in the state on Thursday and Friday. He will hold a town hall meeting at the Riverwoods Retirement Community at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. On Friday he will hold a town hall meetings at Gilchrest Metal Fabricating in Hudson at noon and at the Belknap Mills in Laconia at 5:30 p.m.

And New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie arrives in the state on Friday evening for a 6 p.m. town hall meeting at the Inn on Main in Wolfeboro, followed on Saturday at 10 a.m. by a town hall at the Weare Middle School. At 12:30 p.m., he will visit the D.W. Diner in Merrimack with House Majority Leader Dick Hinch, who endorsed Christie earlier this week.

CAROL LINKS GUINTA TO TRUMP. Former U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter earlier this week called on U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta to return a $1,000 contribution Guinta received from Trump.

We verified the contribution through the Center for Responsive Politics’ OpenSecrets.org.

Shea-Porter said, “If Frank Guinta is at all concerned about keeping Americans safe, he should immediately return Donald Trump’s contribution and condemn Trump’s remarks” calling for a halt to allowing Muslims into the country.

A Guinta spokesman did not respond to our request for comment.

CLOSE-UP. This week on “CloseUP,” WMUR political director Josh McElveen will interview Republican presidential candidates Chris Christie and Rand Paul. He will also discuss with Portsmouth City Councilor Stefany Shaheen, businesswoman Renee Plummer and Kriss Blevins efforts to have the federal government call a state of emergency in New Hampshire to deal with the heroin crisis.

NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY VAULT. Check out WMUR political reporter Adam Sexton’s series of “look backs” at past New Hampshire primaries by clicking here to go to his New Hampshire Primary Vault page on WMUR.com. This week’s featured spot focuses on the 1972 candidacy of Sam Yorty, who was then the Democratic mayor of Los Angeles.